Lil Katz / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Android 17 has silently added native assist for the Low Latency Excessive-Definition Audio Codec (LHDC v5)
- This expands high-bitrate choices past Sony’s LDAC on Google Pixels, permitting customers to stream 96kHz high-resolution audio to appropriate {hardware}.
- Codec creator Savitech confirmed that native integration means future Android 17 units from Samsung, Xiaomi, and others will even assist LHDC seamlessly, marking an enormous win for compatibility for high-res earbuds and headphones.
Android 17 brings many good modifications, however there are additionally ones which have flown below the radar and haven’t been as closely marketed. It appears Google has silently added a extremely requested audio function to its newest software program replace, bringing the Low Latency Excessive-Definition Audio Codec (LHDC) to supported Pixel units.
Reddit consumer QuantumCatalyzt seen that Android 17 on their Pixel 9 Professional enabled LHDC codec assist, permitting them to change on Hello-Res audio on their OnePlus Buds.
On my Google Pixel 9 Professional XL working the steady Android 17 launch, I can affirm that LHDC v5 is now a legitimate choice obtainable in Settings > System > Developer Choices > Bluetooth > Bluetooth Audio Codec after I join my OnePlus Buds Professional 3 (the choices will probably be grayed out till appropriate {hardware} is linked).
With Android 17, I can swap to 96kHz pattern fee for Bluetooth Audio and subsequently activate Hello-Res mode within the HeyMelody app (the companion app for OnePlus earbuds). You’d nonetheless want a high-quality supply, which, in my case, was Hello-Res Lossless in Apple Music, to expertise a wider soundstage proper off the bat than beforehand potential with the AAC default.
Previous to this replace, Pixel telephones relied closely on Sony’s LDAC for high-bitrate wi-fi audio, leaving many customers restricted to lower-quality AAC or SBC when pairing their units with widespread LHDC-supported audio gear. The change is an enormous win for customers who pair their Pixels with earbuds from producers like OnePlus, Nothing, and OPPO, which often make the most of LHDC to deal with high-resolution audio streams.
Savitech Corp, the creator of LHDC, talked about in a weblog publish in March that Android 17 would come with native LHDC assist. Which means that all future Android smartphones, together with these from Samsung, OPPO, vivo, and Xiaomi, will provide seamless LHDC assist, offering customers with a premium audio expertise.
Observe that LHDC 5.0 can theoretically high out at 24-bit/192kHz with a most information bitrate of 1Mbps, in comparison with AAC’s 16-bit/44.1kHz with a bitrate of 256kbps. Audio sources with larger high quality than LHDC will probably be dynamically compressed and downsampled to suit inside Bluetooth’s bandwidth constraints. So when you’re anticipating wired IEM-level high quality, you need to mood your expectations. Nonetheless, when you have appropriate LHDC audio {hardware}, like earbuds and headphones, the Android 17 replace in your Pixels will allow you to take pleasure in your audio higher than earlier than.
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